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Summary List of stories Phase II Night: Ashes, Metal, And Corruption << chapter 69 Chapter 70 of 75 The Ruthless Path Of Wisdom chapter 71 >> << previous scene Scene 1 of 2 next scene >> Location Participants Time Summary Prologue | Phase I | Phase II | Epilogue 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 Text Antares laughed and shook his head, grinning brightly around at Avalon, Rustproof, Meadowlark and Aphrodisia as they played cards together. She couldn't keep the rules of the game straight, and Meadowlark kept trying to help her out, which only seemed to frustrate the demon more... but all the same, the cluster of foals was happy and positive. It was a few weeks after the commitment ceremony, and Antares was spending the night at Sweet Apple Acres: as a matter of fact, all the kids were tonight, having a little campout in the big tent they currently occupied. Sleeping bags and pillows were all around them, and Rustproof was comfortably cocooned up in a sheet, looking particularly happy to be included, as Avalon asked: "Hey, Apple Pie, gimme an eight." "I don't... what the hell!" Aphrodisia complained, and then she sighed and threw an eight at Avalon, who smiled cheerfully as she paired it with another card and dropped them in front of her. "What the hell!" "Apps, it you get caught swearing again, we're the ones who get in trouble for it." Antares said pointedly, then he winced when the demon foal gave a bright grin before taking a long breath, but thankfully Meadowlark hurriedly reached over and seized the demon filly's mouth, holding it closed before she could yell anything. Then Antares winced as something scratched against the side of the tent, before there was a loud rumble outside... but a moment later, Atrus poked his head through the flap, and Antares wheezed in relief before he smiled brightly. "Hey!" "Your parents sent me to see you. I do not know why, you are within twenty feet of the house, but I do not question the ponies." Atrus paused for a moment, and then he simply leaned back before grumbling as Kǫttr barked cheerfully at him outside. A moment later, the Hellhound once more tried to shove his way through the tent flap to join them, but the foals quickly yelled and Aphrodisia barked loudly at the Hellhound, and he whined before retreating before his large claws could rip up the cloth floor of the tent. They went back to their card game for a few minutes, talking easily amongst themselves before Aphrodisia glanced up as Kǫttr began barking loudly. Then she groaned when the Hellhound loudly took off towards something, and the demon muttered: "Great. After this game, we gotta go find my dog." "He'll be fine, it's an apple field." Avalon said with a grumble, then she leaned to the side and stuck her head out of the flap, peering back and forth... but there wasn't a lot to see. The sun was getting low in the reddening sky, and the house was all lit up, but there was a pleasant smell of something special cooking in the air, too: then again, Apple Bloom and Scarlet Sage were visiting, and there was the whole party of foals to take care of, too. She ducked back into the tent, then huffed and shoved Aphrodisia away from her cards, saying flatly: "Cheater." Aphrodisia only barked at her once in response, and the other foals smiled and giggled as they continued to play. A few minutes later, another scratching came from outside the tent, and Antares looked up inquisitively before he heard another rumble. He cocked his head curiously, beginning to lean forwards- An enormous metal hand tore through the roof of the tent, grabbing at the foals inside, and Meadowlark screamed as Avalon leapt backwards and Rustproof fell over. Antares stared in horror as the fingers began clawing towards him, turning hurriedly away before Aphrodisia leapt up, snarling and biting savagely into the metal hand with her sharp teeth, the hand flexing in surprise before it flicked hard to the side as the monster it belonged to snarled in frustration. Aphrodisia was thrown easily away, ripping through one wall of the tent as Antares charged forwards to slice through another with his horn, fleeing outside before he winced and spun around, meaning to help the others... but he froze in horror when the monster seemed to look up... except the enormous behemoth had no head. It straightened, abandoning the tent with a rumbling chuckle, and Antares staggered backwards in terror as it set its focus on him, seeming to glare down at him despite the fact that its wide, thick collar was filled only with gaping emptiness. Its upper body was massive and powerful, made out of heavy silver plates chiseled into the shape of musculature, with broad shoulders and long, thick arms ending in gauntlet-covered hands. But as it strode forwards, Antares saw with horror that its upper body fed into a horse's form: four strong legs that all ended in cloven metallic hooves, its equine lower body made of silver metal that looked almost soft... except where it was overlaid with heavy-duty layers of plate armor. It was made all the more terrifying by the fact it had a broadsword strapped over its back, and a kite shield locked into place over one arm; and worse, Antares thought he could see other weapons hanging from its sides by loops of metal, as if it was a one-centaur army. And it was already reaching him again, Antares shaking his head in terror, in denial, not knowing what this horrible, goliath thing could want from him- Avalon smashed across the creature's collar, and it snarled and clawed at her with its free arm, distracted, as the foal shouted as she shot up into the air, fearless despite the fact the centaur was almost ten times the size of her: "Antares, get the hell out of here!" Antares began to nod, began to turn, but he caught sight of Avalon twisting around in midair in the corner of his eye before she shot down... and crashed only into the monster's shield when it quickly rose it in front of itself, before the centaur roared and swung the kite shield outwards, smashing Avalon limply across the field like a toy. "Avalon!" Antares sprinted forwards, charging faster than he'd ever moved in his life before he leapt and half-spun as Avalon fell from the air, catching her bludgeoned body and crashing down on his back. He skidded backwards, clutching her against his chest, looking down with horror at her unconscious, broken form before he stared up as the centaur approached- A much-larger Pegasus smashed into its back in a rainbow blur, and the centaur staggered with a roar before it spun around with surprising speed, rearing back and kicking its front legs out as Rainbow Dash winced and shot backwards, yelling over his shoulder: "Somepony go and get Celestia!" Soarin' nodded sharply as he began to take to the air, and to the horror of Antares, the Centaur laughed as it snatched a coil of chain hanging at its side, roaring in response: "Herrófriðr does not think so, maggots!" The monster snapped the chain out like a whip, and it crashed across Soarin's back and knocked him from the air with a gargle of pain before the centaur brought the improvised weapon lashing around, heedless of the foals as it struck out at the charging adults. Meadowlark shrieked as she tackled Rustproof to the ground, just before the chain snapped past and over thankfully-small Aphrodisia and then it crashed against Big Mac... but the crimson stallion only staggered and then jumped forwards, pouncing on top of the chain to drag it to the ground. Herrófriðr dropped the chain as Rainbow Dash shot forwards again, now with Scarlet Sage following after him, but the centaur was uncannily fast, bringing the shield up to block Rainbow's attack before it used it to bash him backwards. The Pegasus only snarled, however, lurching and knocked off balance, but forcing himself to stay in the air to try and renew the attack... and then the giant's free fist crashed into him and knocked him flying limply into Scarlet Sage, the two falling from the air even as Applejack and Apple Bloom both lunged at the monster's legs. Herrófriðr stomped his hooves violently up and down as Applejack smashed against one limb, then he roared in frustration when Apple Bloom leapt upwards, kicking off his equine body and slamming her hooves against his metal stomach, sending up a hollow rumble before the centaur reared back, then dropped both hooves forwards. The siblings both avoided the attack, however, before Apple Bloom jumped to the side, landing on Applejack before the goldenrod mare bucked hard on instinct, wincing at her sister's weight but putting all the strength she had into the movement as Apple Bloom threw herself upwards. And Herrófriðr tomahawked her viciously out of the air, knocking her crashing to the ground as Applejack cried out before a large hoof rose up, then stomped savagely down on the goldenrod mare. It rose and slammed down again, then again, crushing Applejack back into the ground before Big Mac leapt over her, the red stallion snarling in pain as the hoof crashed down on him before he reached up to seize it as Scarlet Sage took back to the air and shot at the centaur's chest. Herrófriðr suddenly allowed his hoof to slip backwards, then he punted Big Mac up into the air, the stallion grunting in surprise and flailing his hooves almost comically as he was knocked into Scarlet Sage's flight path, the Pegasus just halting herself from crashing into him before the centaur's shield lashed out and smashed them both flying. The centaur snarled at them then glared down furiously at Aphrodisia as she tackled one of his hooves before he simply kicked the demon away, turning quickly around in a circle before its focus locked on Antares. It rumbled as it strode towards where the unicorn foal was trembling violently and standing over Avalon, his horn glowing feebly. He lashed it upwards, sending a weak jolt of electricity into the monster, and the centaur didn't even flinch as it reached down and snatched the colt up by the scruff, the foal howling in fear and misery, tears of denial falling from his eyes as he was lifted closer to the creature before he screamed when he found himself hovering over the black hole of its neck. It dropped him easily into the opening, and Antares fell into a hollow cell inside the monstrosity, screaming as the centaur's voice echoed mockingly all around him: "Herrófriðr will be rewarded for this. How nice, Herrófriðr rewarded for playing fun little game with pathetic little ponies!" The monster turned and laughed before it began to canter quickly away, and Scarlet Sage snarled as she shoved herself to her hooves before looking back and forth, breathing hard. Then her eyes locked on the sight of Soarin' slowly picking himself up, one of his wings broken from the chain colliding with it before she shouted: "Go to Celestia, go, go!" Soarin' hesitated only a moment before he nodded and turned to run off, and Scarlet Sage trembled as she looked down at Apple Bloom's unconscious body: she could feel her pain, her torment, but also her instinctive acknowledgment, the whisper that it was okay... telling her to go after her brother. And Scarlet Sage breathed hard before she leapt to the air, flying quickly in the direction that the centaur monster had fled. It was moving fast, whatever else, heading quickly in the direction of the wild plains, and Scarlet Sage cursed under her breath as she dropped lower to follow the trail its metallic, massive hooves had left. How no one had sensed it, how no one had seen it... all she could hope was that she could slow it down long enough for Soarin' to tell Celestia, who could get Sleipnir, Pinkamena, and Luna. Even Dad might be so enraged that he gets a second wind... and Horses of Heaven I don't want to think this way but we'll need every hoof we can find... She gritted her teeth, then looked forwards as dusk deepened, stars beginning to sparkle in the deep reds, purples, and blacks of the sky above as she passed through a wide gap smashed in the fencing that had bordered Sweet Apple Acres, if only to mark the edge of the property. Apple trees grew wild here and there, and ahead, one had been smashed to pieces by the passage of the goliath, a clear marker... but it was heading out to nowhere, out into nothing but untamed fields, and Scarlet Sage couldn't see a sign of it ahead as she shot over the plains before glancing down. She gritted her teeth and dropped to a landing in surprise as she realized there was no longer a trail of hoof-prints to follow, and she looked back and forth wildly before a cunning voice said gently: "You aren't going to find him. Herrófriðr has already returned to Decretum with his precious cargo..." Scarlet Sage looked up, breathing hard, as a shape strode slowly forwards through the growing darkness, smiling calmly. It was a winged unicorn, tall, sleek, strong... and Scarlet Sage paled in horror as she realized it was a perfect copy of Twilight Sparkle, except that her flank was clear and clean, without a cutie mark or emblem of any kind. Her streaked tail flicked before she laughed, and then she gazed almost affectionately over Scarlet Sage as she stepped slowly forwards, and the Pegasus shivered as she set herself, realizing that this creature was also larger than the Twilight she knew... as large as perhaps Celestia, as she loomed forwards and flapped her wings once: enormous, violet wings with beautiful white pinions. "Shush now. Go to sleep." Her violet eyes flashed, and Scarlet Sage felt a hammer smash into her mind, stumbling drunkenly backwards before she cursed weakly, then dug her hooves into the ground... and her own eyes glowed faint crimson, her blood boiling in her own veins as she whispered: "No." She shook herself out, adrenaline sparking through her veins as her blood flowed faster, her heart rate speeding up and her breaths coming sharper as the Clockwork Pony frowned, then smiled slowly. "Oh. You're the girl with demon blood. Fascinating... yes, I've been hoping to have a word with you, and what a delight that we'll get to do it alone..." "Who are you? What are you? Where is Antares and that monster?" Scarlet Sage shouted, even though she had a terrible feeling she already knew the answer. "I am Wisdom, the Hallowed Sanctifier. I am the chosen one. And unlike my foolish brethren, I have never been defeated, never been bested. I came here on the orders of the Clockwork King himself, to capture the child of Brynhild and Scrivener Blooms... we shall convert him to our ways." Wisdom grinned callously. "We shall make him see. He will be the perfect addition to our forces. And once Brynhild, Freya, and Thor are exterminated, we shall force open the Bifrost Bridge and annihilate Valhalla and reclaim Kvasir. He has much to answer for to our beloved savior-lord." Scarlet Sage snarled at this, setting herself, and Wisdom shook her head and laughed, saying almost pityingly: "You believe yourself a match for me, little girl? I am not simply the master of the Hexad... I am the Hexad. I am the Clockwork King's chosen one. I am the hero who will bring this universe to order. I am Law. And the only reason your world still exists is because I have permitted it to do so... but now, the Clockwork King has told me to end this charade. To either destroy this world... or unite it with ours, to bring our vision, our glory, here. And I tell you all this, little girl, because you will serve as the message I send to your parents, the warning I will give them to surrender, and give in peacefully... to atone for their mistakes, and join us." The Pegasus snorted in disgust at this, closing her eyes and bowing her head forwards before she whispered: "I won't let you." "Then come, little girl. Let's play a game." replied Wisdom softly, and Scarlet Sage's eyes flashed as she looked sharply up before the Pegasus lunged forwards, and Wisdom smiled, elegantly stepping backwards and easily dodging back and forth, avoiding swipes of Scarlet Sage's hooves before the Clockwork Pony suddenly slashed her horn out and downwards, ripping through Scarlet Sage's features to knock her backwards with a cry of agony. Her blood splattered out over Wisdom's face, and Scarlet Sage snarled as her eyes glowed red, looking sharply up. For a moment, Wisdom frowned, and then the Clockwork Pony's eyes widened as the blood on her face began to steam violently, eating into her features like acid as she staggered backwards, before a cry of shock and horror came from her jaws as Scarlet Sage's eyes flashed brightly and the boiling blood exploded into red flames. Wisdom fell forwards, pawing wildly at her face as Scarlet Sage ran quickly in towards the Clockwork Pony... and then leapt backwards with a curse, staggering hurriedly away as Wisdom leapt up to her hooves, horn glowing with black fire as she lashed it back and forth angrily as her features visibly healed. "Arrogant little filly!" Scarlet Sage dodged the dangerous swings of the Clockwork Pony's horn, evading back and forth before Wisdom reared back, her horn glowing brighter as she prepared some spell... and Scarlet Sage leapt in low, tackling her stomach and knocking Wisdom onto her back before she began to slam her hooves down viciously and violently into the pony's chest, snarling in effort as Wisdom snarled in pain before kicking her off. Scarlet Sage crashed down, and Wisdom rolled to her hooves before leaping forwards, swinging her horn down to try and stab through the Pegasus' breast, but Scarlet Sage managed to twist her body out of the way. Agony still ripped through her as instead Wisdom pierced into her wing, the Pegasus crying out before she felt Wisdom begin to step back... and instead, Scarlet snarled, her eyes glowing red as blood burst up from her wing, then solidified, becoming like cement. It was agonizing, especially with Wisdom trying fruitlessly to draw her head back as she cursed in surprise, before Scarlet Sage slammed a blow once, twice, thrice, into Wisdom's mouth and nose. She felt a tooth dislodge and heard the crack of bone, and Wisdom's shriek told her she had achieved what she was going for before she shoved her hoof against Wisdom's face, forcibly pushing on her before Wisdom roared as her horn burst into black flame again, searing apart the cemented blood and letting her leap backwards as Scarlet Sage howled in pain. Then the Blood Seer quickly brought her hoof to her muzzle, licking the blood off it quickly, snarling as she rolled up to her hooves and her eyes glowed brilliantly as she channeled all the rage and pain in her body towards Wisdom as she felt the alien blood coursing through her system. She began to open her mouth... and then trembled as Wisdom only smiled coldly, the glow dying from around the Clockwork Pony's horn as she relaxed and stepped backwards, a bit of silver-colored blood dripping from her jaws... wait... silver? I... I... Scarlet Sage frowned... then gagged loudly, staggering backwards as her vision went blurry for a moment. Everything began to slide towards darkness, before her stomach suddenly twisted, and she screamed in agony as pain ripped through her body as Wisdom calmly rolled her head on her shoulders... and her teeth realigned themselves as the blood was absorbed back into her form. She gazed calmly towards Scarlet Sage as the Blood Seer fell forwards, hugging herself and vomiting silver liquid, screaming in misery the entire time as she stared helplessly up at Wisdom, convulsing and gargling and choking on the stuff that the Clockwork Pony had in place of blood as Wisdom held up a hoof... then it turned silver before splitting apart into thick, ugly tendrils of liquid metal that solidified a moment later into dark claws, the Clockwork Pony saying mockingly: "Can't handle my blood, little girl? Is it because of my power? Because of my knowledge? Or is it because while useless red juice flows through the body of every worthless pony on this planet, I have mercury running through my veins instead?" Scarlet Sage screamed again even as her vision began to fade, her eyes rolling wildly in her head as silver liquid spilled out of her jaws and she felt her own blood slowly turning to liquid metal in her veins, convulsing wildly before Wisdom smiled coldly as her horn began to glow and she backed slowly away, vanishing into the darkness as she whispered mockingly: "Goodbye, little girl. Don't worry. I'll send the rest of your family to you shortly." Category:Transcript Category:Story